A simple trick for checking level on a sloped pit floor

I was working on a 5 story traction job in Tacoma last month, and the pit floor had a pretty bad slope from one side to the other. I used to spend forever trying to shim everything perfectly level from the start. My foreman saw me and said, 'Just set the rails plumb and let the base plates float for now.' So I did that, got the rails set, and then used a laser to mark the exact shim pack needed for each one. It cut my setup time almost in half. Anyone have a different method for dealing with a slanted pit?

3 comments

3 Comments

terrybennett1mo ago

My first foreman in Seattle had me shimming a sloped pit for three hours before he walked over and casually mentioned the floor drain. I was basically building a small pyramid of steel to fight gravity. Your foreman's method sounds a lot smarter than my early career approach of stubbornness and wasted time.

hollyg591mo ago

Read about someone using a water level for that, but doesn't a laser just make more sense?

wyattrobinson15d ago

Yeah but water levels are way more reliable than people give them credit for. They never lie and they can't run out of batteries. A laser is faster sure but you have to keep checking it and recalibrating if you bump the tripod. Water level just sits there and works no matter what. For stuff like grading a long run or setting forms in the dirt I'd take a water level over a laser every time. Lasers have their place but they ain't the end all be all.